Singer Yoni Ganot Discusses Composing Music for Rabbi Kook’s Timeless Texts
Israeli singer and composer Yoni Ganot spoke in an interview on the Jewish date of 3 Elul about his approach to setting the writings of Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook to music. Ganot, who has composed melodies for several of Rabbi Kook’s texts including the song "Yismach Libi," described the rabbi’s words as elevated and remarkably relevant even a century after they were written. He emphasized that what Rabbi Kook expressed long ago resonates strongly today and often feels prophetic in nature.
Ganot explained that he regularly studies Rabbi Kook’s writings beyond those he chooses to compose, finding precise directions and insights that compel him to create music for them. He noted that contemporary audiences find it easier to understand the intensity and depth of Rabbi Kook’s ideas, which were ahead of their time. Among the texts Ganot has set to music, "Yismach Libi" stands out for its foundational message about respecting those outside one’s own religious streams.
The artist also reflected on the reverence required when approaching Rabbi Kook’s words, but said he follows his internal sense of whether a text "plays" within him before composing. He does not aim to set all of Rabbi Kook’s writings to music. Ganot highlighted that Rabbi Kook was not only a rabbi and thinker but also a creator of original poetry, which Ganot sees as an important legacy to remember and learn from.
He cited Rabbi Kook’s work "Orot HaTeshuva" as an example of a text being rediscovered today, particularly a passage predicting that repentance would emerge from bold literature and poetry. Ganot views this phenomenon, where popular culture becomes infused with spiritual power, as something unimaginable a decade ago but foreseen by Rabbi Kook nearly 100 years ago.
Ganot acknowledged other artists who continue Rabbi Kook’s path, some unknowingly, and credited his own introduction to Rabbi Kook’s teachings to Rabbis Meital and Neria. When asked about the future, Ganot described the process as ongoing, expecting what now seems avant-garde to eventually become a core part of broader culture, similar to his own evolution as a writer and composer.
